Why Your Training Choice Matters – A Note from Mike Rollason, Co-Founder of WALX
With over 100 years of combined experience in outdoor fitness, the WALX leadership team has trained thousands — and supported over half a million people through our programmes.
I’m Mike Rollason, one of the founders. As a former UKActive Director, I helped shape national training standards, write the Outdoor Code of Practice, and create the Register of Exercise Professionals.
Here’s what we know: over 40% of walking group participants have a medical condition — from high blood pressure to Parkinson’s. That means when you lead, you carry not just professional but legal responsibility for people’s safety.
Insurance doesn’t cover negligence — so choosing the right training isn’t just a box to tick. It’s peace of mind.
WALX gives you the structure, confidence, and support to lead well — and lead safely.
If you’re exploring how to become a walking or outdoor fitness instructor, it won’t take long before you realise just how many training options are out there. From local authority walk leader courses to full-scale fitness franchises, the variety is vast — and the promises can be confusing.
This article cuts through the noise with a clear, honest side-by-side comparison of WALX and other common instructor training routes. Whether you’re motivated by lifestyle, income, community impact, or all three, this guide helps you decide what fits your goals best.
Why Comparisons Matter
Not all training is created equal. Some offer a certificate but leave you stranded. Others promise everything, but come with hefty price tags, strict rules, and limited freedom.
WALX is deliberately different. It’s designed for real people — especially those in mid-life who want to stay active, earn meaningful income, and help others without taking on a full-time job or high-risk business.
You’ll soon see how WALX compares in terms of:
- Value for money
- Support and infrastructure
- Flexibility and independence
- Marketability and scalability
- Brand credibility and client trust
1. Want to Lead Walks Without Running Your Own Business?
Not everyone wants to set up solo — and with WALX, you don’t have to.
Our WALX Leader Training is perfect for those who want to volunteer with a local WALX Group or support a Community Project, without the responsibility of managing bookings, marketing, or running a business.
Why Choose WALX Leader Training?
- ✅ CPD-certified training in Total Body Walking™
- ✅ Volunteer opportunities with existing WALX Groups
- ✅ Support from a national brand and local community
- ✅ No business setup required
- ✅ Option to grow into paid roles (Instructor or Ambassador) later
WALX Leader vs Traditional Walk Leader Courses
- 🟢 Traditional walk leader courses: short, basic, no long-term support
- 🔵 WALX Leader: recognised training, real-world support, and future potential
Just want to help people get walking? We’ll connect you with a group that needs you.
Want to do more later? The pathway is ready when you are.
2. WALX vs Fitness Instructor Courses (e.g. Level 2 PT, Group Ex)
Fitness Courses are widely recognised and cover everything from gym instruction to group classes. But they don’t offer much when it comes to launching your own brand or business.
Typical Features:
- Cost £300–£2,000
- Often classroom-based or intensive
- Focused on gym settings
- No tech support or marketing help
- High competition in the fitness industry
WALX Difference:
- Designed for real-life, outdoor settings
- Appeals to a broader, less competitive audience (rehab, older adults, active wellbeing)
- Business-in-a-box support: booking, payments, client comms
- National brand trust and NHS recognition
- Easy to run around a current job or lifestyle
Bottom Line: Want to work in a gym? PT works. Want fresh air, flexibility, and a supportive network? Go WALX.
3. WALX vs Nordic Walking Instructor Training
Nordic Walking Training (classic) focuses on pole technique and usually uses strap-based poles. It’s a solid foundation for fitness-led walking but lacks modern support systems and traditions Nordic Walking is not appropriate for many cohorts such as those with medical conditions, where being strapped to poles can cause sever injury should someone trip or fall. Traditional Nordic Walking originated in Europe as a sport and although the founders of WALX originally brought Nordic Walking to the UK under the Nordic Walking UK Brand. They saw it was an outdoor Cross Trainer. The programmes they developed had very little to do with its origins.
What you see today, is the culmination of over 16 years of development but fundamentally, it is about helping people get more from their walking, whether that be losing weight, improving their fitness, recovering from illness or coping with the challenges of a medical contraindication.
In 2018, as Nordic Walking UK, we generated over a 13 million readership in just a 4 week period, appearing on BBC Breakfast, BBC One Show, BBC Radio 2 & 4, articles in the Times, the Telegraph and the Observer newspapers, using the term Nordic Walking to describe what we did. That was a mistake on our behalf because when people searched for Nordic Walking, they were finding bizarre European instructors leaping and bounding in lycra and cheap trekking poles form Asia that were purporting to be nordic poles. In 2019, myself and my co- founders, embarked on complete re-brand to WALX™ and Total Body Walking™ that was more reflective of what we did and provided the ability to protect the standards and qualities associated.
Firstly, let’s be clear – “There is NO Internationally recognised instructor qualification”. No matter what INWA, SINW, ANWA, BINWA, etc etc write in their PR blurb, it doesn’t exist. It’s smokes and mirrors to purport to be a bigger organisations than reality. I believe the last “International INWA conference” attracted less than 50 instructors rom across the World and that included the organisers. To put it in some context, the last instructor conference we ran under the Nordic Walking UK we attracted over 300.
Traditional Nordic Walking Instructor training:
- Cost £250–£700
- Strong emphasis on technical form
- Limited branding or admin platform
- Reliant on the legacy of the PR created by Nordic Walking UK, that no longer exists
WALX Difference:
- Total Body Walking™ uses patented strapless WALX Poles
- Easier to learn, teach, and scale — especially for community and rehab work
- Backed by IP, protected frameworks (WALX Tri-Motion™, etc.)
- Includes CRM, scheduling, marketing assets, and product resale options
- Built for real-world impact, not just sports science
Bottom Line: Nordic Walking is great for form. WALX is great for fitness, rehab, community health — and business.
4. WALX vs Fitness Franchises & Licensed Brands
Franchise Models provide structured systems, branding, and support — but come with high fees and often strict controls.
Typical Features:
- Entry fees from £2,000–£10,000+
- Ongoing royalty/licence fees
- Set territories and delivery formats
- Franchisee targets and management oversight
- Often corporate, less personal
WALX Difference:
- Low entry cost (from £199)
- No licence or royalty fees — just a 10% commission on sessions run through the platform
- Full control over how many sessions you run, where, and with whom
- Pathways to expand into retail, rehab, or community health contracts
- National support without local restrictions
Bottom Line: If you want plug-and-play with no autonomy, franchises work. If you want flexibility without massive investment, WALX is a better fit.
5. WALX vs Going It Alone (DIY Model)
Plenty of instructors set out to build their own brand from scratch. On paper, it sounds ideal — total freedom, complete control, your name on the banner. But with that freedom comes total responsibility.
A common misconception? That qualifying as a fitness instructor or personal trainer means you get to work out every day and get paid for it. The reality? Far from it.
I often joke (with more truth than humour) that the failure rate of personal trainers is close to 100% a year. I can’t count the number of times I’ve walked into a car showroom or estate agent, struck up a conversation with the sales team, and asked, “What did you do before this?”
More often than not, the answer is: “I used to be a PT.”
Why the dropout rate?
Because like it or not, becoming an instructor means becoming a business owner. And business is tough.
- Finding customers has never been more challenging.
- Keeping them is even harder.
- Without customers, there’s no income. No momentum. No sustainability.
And as you dive deeper into building your own brand, you quickly realise that the grass isn’t always greener — it’s just full of unseen effort: websites, bookings, GDPR compliance, marketing, content creation, admin, social media… the list goes on.
What WALX Does Differently
The good news? You don’t have to figure it all out alone.
At WALX, we’ve been there, and we’ve done it. Our team includes veterans of the fitness and outdoor industry who’ve experienced the ups, the downs, and the lessons firsthand.
So when challenges come up — and they will — chances are we already have the answer. And if we don’t? We know someone who does.
With WALX, you get:
- ✅ A credible national brand that opens doors
- ✅ A fully integrated booking, payment, and CRM system
- ✅ Marketing templates, session plans, and admin support
- ✅ Ongoing human support — from people who’ve walked the same path
- ✅ The flexibility to grow your business at your pace — without going it alone
Bottom Line?
DIY works if you love tech, branding, admin, marketing, and business-building — and you’ve got the time and energy to do it all yourself.
But if you’d rather focus on leading walks, helping people, and building something meaningful, WALX gives you the ready-made structure, tools, and guidance to grow with confidence.
Why struggle to build from scratch when you can build on something that already works?
6. WALX vs Other Outdoor Fitness Models (e.g. Buggyfit, British Military Fitness, Green Gym)
Some outdoor brands cater to niche audiences or specialise in bootcamp formats.
Typical Features:
- High-intensity classes (HIIT, circuits, etc.)
- Focused on younger or more active populations
- Limited flexibility in delivery
- Often require equipment and physical demonstration
WALX Difference:
- Designed for all ages and fitness levels — not just the already-fit
- Ideal for older adults, rehab clients, or those new to movement
- Offers structured programmes like WALX Pathways™ and ActiveStart™
- Inclusive, accessible, and supportive — not intimidating
Bottom Line: If you want high-impact, sweaty sessions, outdoor fitness franchises deliver. If you want wellness, connection, and sustainability, WALX is the better route.
Summary Table
Which One Matches Your Goals?
If you want:
- A nationally supported, locally flexible business model
- To work with a recognised brand that opens doors
- The tools to launch quickly and grow over time
- A structure that supports wellness, not just fitness
Then WALX is your perfect fit.
Want to see how it compares to your local options or career path? [Book a 20-min Discovery Call] or [Join a Free Taster Session] today.
Let me know if you’d like a downloadable one-pager comparison chart, or a condensed version for a nurture email or blog post.
